


Blood Connection

by ReluctantHero



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Blood and Gore, Crimes, Dark fic, Detective Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Falling In Love, Graphic descriptions, Levi is not mentally normal, M/M, blood obsession, detectives and killers, dexter elements, forensic tech Eren, murders, on screen murder, understanding each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 13:55:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19427332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReluctantHero/pseuds/ReluctantHero
Summary: After witnessing a murder as a child, Levi has never been "normal".He spent his life convincing the world otherwise, even building a career as a Homicide Detective.Will solving a familiar case and his developing friendship with Eren, the Forensics Tech blow his cover?Or will he find what he needed all along.





	Blood Connection

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CHENZIEE!!  
> You're wonderful, I love you, and I hope your birthday is spectacular!! <3<3<3
> 
> Warning: This is dark. There's blood, gore, murder, and overall twisted thoughts.
> 
> I personally love shit like but it's different than anything I've written before and I really hope I did okay with it!  
> (Especially since Chenziee loves this type of thing too - pressure is on - I'm scared)
> 
> Please Enjoy!!

The room was quiet, still, eerie. 

Blood was everywhere; pooled onto the laminate of the kitchen, sprayed over the walls of the hallway, and soaked into the carpet where the victim had eventually bled out. 

There are approximately five liters of blood in the human body. It’s hard to imagine what five liters of blood looks like; maybe something like the scene of a horror movie when an arm is cut off, or a hospital based TV show where screaming doctors surround a near fatal injury, armed with gauze and morphine. 

In reality, its unlike anything fiction can convey; the way it fills the space, oozing into every crevice, every nook, framing it’s former host like a piece of art. 

That’s how Levi saw it; like a piece of art. A beautiful masterpiece left behind for his viewing pleasure. 

Levi loved blood. He loved the color, the smell, the consistency. 

He knew he was sick. He knew that he should be repulsed by the sight of an entire body’s worth of blood spilled onto the floor. He knew that if others could see his thoughts, they would call him a monster. 

He was a monster. A well-hidden monster, masquerading as a Homicide Detective; capturing the deranged criminals whose minds worked so much like his own. 

“What do we have?” Hange asked, ducking in underneath the caution tape; her usual loud and excited personality muted in the somber atmosphere of the crime scene. Like a normal person. 

“Victim looks to be about early to mid 20’s. Blunt force trauma to the head and a stab wound to the upper torso. Looks like she put up a fight,” Levi explained, his knowledge coming from years of experience and a quick glance around the house. 

“What do we know about the assailant?” 

“Nothing yet. There’s a bloody hand print on the door frame, could be a clue. Where’s Eren?” Levi asked. 

“Right here!” a young man called, showing his laminated badge to the guarding officer and clumsily climbing over the caution tape; a large kit in his hand. 

Levi tried not to roll his eyes. The kid was young, about mid 20’s. He was awkward and didn’t always know how to act in social settings, but he was smart; one of the best forensics Levi had worked with in his 15 year career. 

“Wow,” Eren said, his voice laced with wonder as he stood beside Levi, staring at the crime scene with his abnormally large green eyes. 

Levi looked at Eren coldly from the side, taking in the unmasked fascination of the younger man as he took in the crime scene – the same look Levi had learned to contain years ago. 

Was Eren sick like he was? Was he deranged and disturbed like Levi was? Did he see an artistic display when he looked at the scene, or did his stomach turn in disgust over what one human was capable of doing to another? 

“Are you going to stand there and stare at it all day or will you do your job?” Levi growled, snapping Eren out of his trance; a light blush spreading over his cheeks as he nodded and hurried over to the body to gather evidence. 

“That kid is kind of weird, isn’t he?” Hange whispered into Levi’s ear. 

“You’re one to talk, four eyes,” Levi said, rolling his eyes and getting back to work, a chuckling Hange following closely behind. 

The worst part about being a detective was speaking to the families. Levi wasn’t good with emotions. He didn’t know what to say to a grieving friend, shocked neighbor, or hysterical parent. His job was to give the facts and ask for information that would help them solve the case. 

Luckily, Hange was a fountain of emotion and empathy. She could calm down a screaming witness within seconds, rub their back and let them sob quietly on her shoulder while they spilled every crucial detail they knew. 

Hange wasn’t an unbearable person to spend time with. She knew when to be serious and when to crack jokes; not that Levi understood most of them, but he appreciated her company when he had it. She was the best partner he had had in his career, the only person he considered to be a friend, and in his own abnormal way, he cared deeply for her. 

“Are you done crying?” Levi asked, handing Hange a tissue to wipe her disgusting, snotty nose as they climbed into the car. 

“Yeah, sorry. That was really emotional,” Hange sniffled. 

“You’re always emotional,” Levi rolled his eyes. 

“An innocent woman died, I’m sorry I don’t have the emotional range of a bread-stick,” Hange scoffed. 

“Did you at least get anything from the parents?” Levi asked, putting the car in gear and heading back toward the station. 

“Nothing. Looks like a regular B an E gone wrong,” Hange said. 

“Great.” 

The case was a dead end. Levi had been mulling over the evidence for days; examining every picture, every fingerprint, every item that looked out of place. There was nothing. 

The victim –Mina—had no ties to gangs or drugs, not even a sorority. She had a quiet group of friends, and didn’t even have a student loan. The only thing remotely questionable was the mild sedative in her system at the time of death. 

Levi groaned, squeezing the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ease away the tension headache that had been overtaking him. He needed a break, clear his head, stretch his legs, refresh himself so he could figure everything out. 

His joints popped loudly through the abandoned station as he stood, rolling his neck and stretching his back before heading toward the vending machine for a shitty late-night snack. 

He should go home, grab some real food on the way, have a decent sleep and return refreshed in the morning. Levi however, was too stubborn for that and would stare at the case until his eyes bled. 

Though, according to the light shining from the forensics lab, it seemed like he wasn’t the only one working himself to death. 

“You’re still here,” Levi said, leaning against the door frame of Eren’s office, finding the young man leaned over his desk, with fingers in his hair, and staring at the computer screen. 

“Detective Ackerman!” Eren exclaimed, startled by Levi’s sudden appearance, “I thought you had gone home.” 

“Likewise,” Levi said, eyes drifting toward Eren’s computer screen, “You know it’s my job to figure out the case, not yours,” he said crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. 

“I know, and you’re doing a great job. I’m just curious. Nothing adds up,” Eren said, running his hand through his hair. 

“You’re telling me,” Levi scoffed, his eyes examining Eren closely. He wasn’t curious about the case; his eyes were red from staring at the computer screen, his hair tousled, his clothes wrinkled, and a look of defeat on his usually happy face. He was invested. 

Levi wondered why. It wasn’t uncommon for those outside of the case to develop strong interest in certain cases. Usually when crimes were exceptionally immoral, or hit close to home in their personal lives. 

This case didn’t seem to fit either criteria for Eren, as far as they knew, it was a simple break and entering gone wrong; yet here he was, past 11 at night, agonizing over the evidence of a case that he wasn’t responsible to solve. 

Maybe there was more to Eren than Levi had thought. 

“Have you gotten any leads?” Levi asked, Eren’s eyes snapping back to Levi’s before shifting toward his screen. 

“No, I haven’t,” He confessed. 

Levi studied Eren for a moment longer. Was he lying to him? 

Levi lacked in many areas involved with human interaction, but one thing he was confident in, was his ability to tell when someone was lying to him. 

Eren didn’t show the normal signs of someone telling a lie; if someone else had been watching him they would likely believe that he was telling the truth, but having spent a lifetime perfecting his ability to convince the world he was as normal as the rest of them, he knew in his gut it wasn’t the case. 

“It’s late and we’ve both beat. Have you eaten?” Levi asked, ignoring the surprised look on Eren’s face from the question. Levi wasn’t normally one to ask, or care if others –besides Hange—were taking care of themselves. But Eren intrigued him, spending some time with him might help Levi figure out what is really going on inside the young man’s head. 

“I had a bag of chip like two hours ago,” Eren said. 

“Come on, I know a place,” Levi said. 

They slid into a booth at the nearby diner, Levi ordering his usual Earl Gray before the waitress had even finished seating them. 

“I love this place,” Eren said, shrugging off his coat and smiling at Levi from across the table. He smiled a lot for a guy who examined blood for a living. 

“The food is great for a shitty diner,” Levi agreed, opening the menu and scanning the familiar items. 

“Do you come here often, Detective Ackerman?” Eren asked, flipping through the pages of his own menu. 

“Levi.” The demand seeming to startle Eren once again; he had the largest, greenest eyes Levi had ever seen. He found them quite pretty when he actually stopped to take notice.   
  
“Sorry. Do you come here often, Levi?” Eren corrected. 

“Yeah, too busy to cook usually,” Levi shrugged. 

“No one waiting at home?” Eren asked. 

“Too busy for relationships.” Not to mention too damaged to sustain one. 

“Same here actually. Dating is hard when you work all the time,” Eren laughed, sipping on the glass of water brought out by the waitress. 

“Maybe you should leave the case solving to the Detectives then and go have some fun,” Levi said. 

“Touche,” Eren laughed. 

Eren ordered a burger and fries, while Levi went with a club sandwich for a lighter option for the late hour. Levi found himself content with the company, something he could not usually admit. The spoke about the case, the possible motives, suspects, evidence. Eren going into detail of the splatters of blood, forensic evidence, placement of the body; Levi was nearly entranced by the conversation. 

“I’m so sorry, I forget myself sometimes. I hope I haven’t ruined your dinner,” Eren said. 

“No, of course not,” Levi dismissed, picking up his forgotten sandwich and taking a large bite. 

“Okay good. Sometimes people get turned off when I talk about blood,” Eren chuckled bashfully. 

Not Levi. Levi thrived on it, hung on every word that had come out of Eren’s mouth. Levi had yet to meet someone with a fascination for blood rivalling his own. 

“What made you go into blood spatter?” Levi asked, ignoring the statement. 

“I wanted to help people,” Eren said, his response automatic and disappointing. He was lying again; Levi didn’t even need his own twisted sense of self to know this time. Someone with that much passion for blood and forensics did not choose blood spatter as a profession for the sole purpose of helping others. 

“Don’t we all,” Levi said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. 

“What made you want to become a detective?” Eren asked with a mouth full of fries. 

Levi thought about the question for a moment, losing himself in a memory as Eren and the diner fading away. A quiet four year old, laying on the floor of a dark basement, his mother’s blood swirling around him as her lifeless body lay beside him. The light hurting his eyes as the door at the top of the stairs opened for the first time in days, his Uncle Kenny hurrying down the stairs. 

“My Uncle was a cop,” Levi said simply, back in the diner with Eren, green eyes watching him with a peculiar look in his eye. 

If Eren could lie, then so could Levi. It was his own automatic response, one that no one questioned or needed further detail. 

Maybe if he found out what Eren was hiding, discovered who he was underneath the cheerful, scatter brain façade he could tell him the real reason he became a cop. 

It wasn’t for adoration of his Uncle or the job he did, nor was it a means for justice over what had happened to his mother. Levi had become a cop for himself, to witness the beauty of the crime scene, the artwork of the blood curling around the victim, the confirmation that there were others out there as sick and fucked up as himself. 

“That’s a good reason,” Eren laughed, “You were close with your Uncle?” 

“As close as you can be with a cop. My mother died when I was young, Kenny raised me,” Levi explained. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Eren said. 

“Don’t be, it was more than thirty years ago,” Levi dismissed. 

“I lost my parents too,” Eren said, taking a large bite of his burger. 

“Sorry Kid,” Levi said, feigning sympathy, though unable to deny his curiosity over how they might have died. Did he witness their death like Levi had with his mother? Had it been the reason why Eren had gone into Blood Spatter as a profession? Was it the cause for his quirky behavior? 

“It’s cool,” Eren shrugged with a smile. 

Eren smiled a lot. He always had a pleasant look on his face, he made eye contact when he spoke, people found him enjoyable to be around, even if a tiny bit weird. Either Eren was normal, like everyone else, or he had mastered his ability to blend in; much more successfully than Levi had ever had. 

Before Levi could add anymore empty condolences, his phone began to buzz in his pocket. 

“We have to go, there’s another crime scene,” He said, waving over to the waitress for the bill before slipping on his coat. 

Eren scarfed down the last bite of his burger, before hurrying out of the booth and following Levi. 

They made it to the crime scene twenty minutes later, following the caution tape until it brought them inside. 

“Levi, you’re here! I’m not sure if you should go down there?” Hange said, her eyes filled with concern. 

“Why the fuck not?” Levi growled, pushing past her and heading down the stairs, into the basement. 

He stopped when he reached the bottom of the stairs, all of the air escaping his lungs at once, as though he had been punched in the gut. Hange following close behind him, pulling his arm to lead him away. 

“Hange! I’m fine!” Levi growled, his eyes scanning the room; the lifeless women laying on the floor, blood pooling around them, filling every crevasse of the cold concrete floor around them. 

For the second time that night, Levi was four years old; cold and crying in the dark, uselessly shaking his mother to wake up. 

Levi stared at the crime scene, his eyes stopping on a petite woman with long black hair, wearing what could have been a thin white dress. Before he even felt the tear slip down his cheek, Hange had pulled him back up the stairs. 

“Erwin!” Hange yelled, stomping toward their Captain, firm grip still on Levi’s arm, “I’m taking us off this case.” 

“No you’re not,” Levi growled. 

“Hange, this case is huge, we need everyone we can,” Erwin said, his blue eyes wide in surprise by the unusual outburst. 

“Personal involvement,” Hange said. 

“It’s not, Zackly has been in prison for over thirty years. It must be a copycat,” Levi explained. 

Erwin’s face paled as realization dawned on him, the details of Levi’s background obviously coming to the front of his mind. Levi’s past was no secret, but he hated whenever it was brought up, especially if it affected his work in any way. 

“Until we know for sure, you’re off the case,” Erwin ordered. 

“Yes, sir,” Levi said, his voice low and angry as he made his way back to the car, ignoring the whispers of the other officers, Hange’s pleas, and even Eren’s wide eyed stare before driving away. 

Levi was angry, one of the normal human emotions that Levi had felt from time to time. Angry with Erwin for taking him off the case, angry with Hange for thinking he couldn’t handle it, and angry with himself for reacting as he had. 

He had never been affected by a crime scene before, not even the memory of his mothers. Levi had been born in that crime scene, the innocent child he had been before he and his mother had been taken has ceased to exist; the cold, unemotional man with a deep passion for blood and inability to connect with other humans has been born. 

He had been affected by his mother’s murder, just not in the way other people would have been. It created the darkness inside of him, perhaps if he had not witnessed the death of his mother and the other women trapped in that basement, he wouldn’t have had to hide his true self from the world. 

Levi needed this case. He needed to know if it was related to Zackly, he needed to meet the man who had changed his life, needed to make him suffer for what he had done to Levi’s mother. 

Levi pulled all of Kenny’s old case files. The man had been chasing Zackly for years before finally catching him. He had known it was him well before he was able to prove it. It was thought that Kuchel was punishment for Kenny chasing him, though it was what abled Kenny to put together the last pieces and finally arrest him. 

Levi read over each detail in the file multiple times, he pulled all records of Zackly; his visitors in prison, his phone contacts, his altercations with other prisoners. 

“Hey, Detective Ackerman,” Eren said one evening as he passed by Levi’s desk; his coat on and bag slung over his shoulder, ready to go home for the day. 

“I told you to call me Levi,” Levi said, barely glancing up from his work. 

“Sorry, Levi,” Eren said bashfully. 

“What can I help you with, Eren?” Levi asked. 

“I was just heading to the diner, would you like to join me? You haven’t gotten up from your desk all day,” Eren explained. 

“You know what?” Levi said, dropping his papers and leaning back in his chair to stretch, “That sounds like a good idea.” 

Levi tried to ignore the smile that spread over Eren’s face as he accepted. Instead locking away the files in his desk drawer and pulling on his coat before following Eren out of the building. 

“Tell me about the case,” Levi said as they waited for their dinner. 

“I don’t think I’m supposed to,” Eren said while Levi rolled his eyes. 

“I’m not affected by it. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be allowed to work it,” he said. 

“You looked affected by it,” Eren said quietly. 

“How did I look?” Levi asked flatly. 

“Just shocked. Which is a normal reaction to a crime scene like that, but I’ve never seen you anything but calm,” Eren explained. 

“You always look like a kid in a candy shop,” Levi said, taking a sip of his tea. 

“I know, that’s why everyone in the department finds me weird,” Eren laughed. 

“You really love blood, don’t you?” Levi asked. 

“I do! It’s just so interesting and beautiful,” Eren exclaimed. 

“Be careful who you tell that to, kid.” Levi said, feeling the pull of a smile on his own lips over Eren’s enthusiasm. 

“You’re the only one I’ve told,” Eren said. 

“Why me?” Levi asked. 

“You seem to like it as much as I do,” Eren said quietly. 

Levi was surprised by the statement. He had always hidden his love for blood so well. Or at least he thought he had. Not even Hange had noticed his love for the bodily fluid. Eren was more than he seemed, maybe he and Levi had more in common than he had thought. 

“Or at least I thought you did before the other day. But we’ve been to scenes with more blood than that so I figured it had to be something else,” Eren explained when Levi hadn’t responded. 

“It wasn’t the blood,” Levi said, unsure why he was volunteering information, but something about Eren made him unable to stop himself. 

“Did you ever hear of the prostitute murders? It was before you were born, but it’s famous in the police world.” Levi explained. 

“I have. They killed girls in different districts all over the country, almost flawlessly, it was years before the cops caught up to them,” Eren said, the awe in his voice not unnoticed by Levi. 

“My mother was one of the prostitutes they captured, unfortunately I was with her when they did. Being a hazard of the job, she didn’t exactly have child care set up for me. I used to hide in the closet.” Levi explained. 

“Did they hurt you too?” Eren asked, his eyes wide as he listened to Levi’s story. 

“No, but they murdered her and the others in front of me and left me alone in the basement with the dead bodies for days. Probably hoping I would starve to death.” Levi shrugged. 

“And this scene is like a reenactment of that one,” Eren said, it wasn’t a question. 

“Yes. It shocked me for a minute, but that’s all. Erwin’s a damn idiot for keeping me off of it. I’m the best detective in that station,” Levi snapped. 

“That’s true,” Eren laughed. 

“So, tell me about the case,” Levi repeated. 

“I don’t know a lot. I’ve been testing the blood but that takes a few days for all of the results. I’m also running DNA against Zackly’s, the guy from the old case, he’s still in prison for now but I guess everything has to be ruled out,” Eren explained. 

“At least they’re doing their jobs,” Levi rolled his eyes. 

“I heard Zackly is getting out for good behavior,” Eren said, nodding his thanks to the waitress as their food was served. 

“He is. Apparently ratted out his accomplices for less time. Thirty years of avoiding conflict and he’s up for early parole.” Levi said. 

“He doesn’t deserve that,” Eren said. 

“He didn’t deserve prison,” Levi scoffed, noticing how Eren’s eyes widened from the statement, “Prison is too good for most of the sick fucks in there.” 

“You’re right, he deserved to die,” Eren said quietly, his eyes burning with a fierce passion. 

A look that told Levi, that he and Eren were more alike than he had originally thought. 

Levi had never been so intrigued by someone in his entire life. He had often wondered about the criminals he chased, what their thought process was, how they had come to commit the crimes they had been caught for; but it had never led to a fascination quite like the one he had with Eren. 

Eren wasn’t a criminal, but there was something different about him. He wasn’t like other people, but he wasn’t like Levi either. He was awkward and clumsy, he laughed loudly and smiled often; but the smile didn’t reach his eyes—when he spoke to someone other than Levi – his sense of humor was dark and he laughed at inappropriate times. 

The more time Levi spent with the young blood spatter analysis, the more Levi discovered what was underneath the friendly scatter-brained exterior, and the more Levi grew to like him. 

It was nice not having to pretend he was like everyone else, not that he let his guard down completely – or that he was ever very good at blending in – but he found himself enjoying their time together. 

It wasn’t long before Erwin ruled out Zackly as a suspect. He was in prison at the time of the murders, there was no way he could do it. They had records of his phone calls, his mail, and his visitors. They question him and everyone he had spoken with and found nothing. 

Levi knew Zackly hadn’t done it, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t somehow involved. The case was a copycat, not perfectly executed as it had been all those years ago, but close enough that Zackly could have been coaching someone. 

Of course, Levi wasn’t going to bring this to Erwin’s attention when he was still trying to convince Erwin to let him work the case. 

“You know, you don’t have to keep working on this case. The blood work is finished, we have all the information we can get from it,” Levi said as he and Eren flipped through the evidence pictures in the nearly empty station. 

“Says the one not even assigned to the case,” Eren grinned. 

Levi rolled his eyes, “That’s bullshit and you know it.” 

“I do,” Eren laughed, “They’ll never catch anyone without you. You’re the best detective here.” 

“I know how to think like them, that’s all,” Levi said, focusing on the reports. 

“What about this Floch guy?” He asked, picking up the picture of the redhead with the stupid hairstyle. 

“What about him?” Eren asked, his smile gone. 

Levi’s eyes lingered on Eren for a moment, the sparkle in his eye faded with the smile. He had yet to fully learn how to read Eren, but that was a cue he would keep an eye on in the future. 

“He was a regular visitor of Zackly and he goes to the same university as two of the victims,” Levi explained. 

“That’s all?” Eren asked, almost disinterested in Levi’s theory. 

“Why would a young guy with no relation visit a man that has been in prison longer than he’s been alive?” Levi asked. 

“Maybe it was for a school project? When I was in high school I used to visit the prison for extra credit. They had a volunteer thing, like reading to old people except you’re keeping convicts' company,” Eren explained 

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. You went because you were fascinated by their crimes,” Levi accused. 

Eren watched Levi for a moment, his eyes wide and conflicted, until he noticed the small smile on Levi’s lips, a large one stretching over his own as he laughed loudly, “You got me there!” 

“You’re a fucking weirdo,” Levi chuckled. 

“Just like you?” Eren asked, looking more adorable than Levi would admit. 

“Yeah, like me.” 

Levi couldn’t get Floch out of his head. Something about him didn’t add up and he needed to figure it out. Unfortunately, Floch was no-where to be found and Levi wasn’t technically working the basement murders case. 

In the meantime, Levi and Hange were still working the case of the young woman stabbed and murdered in her own home. 

“Have you ever seen this man?” Levi asked Sasha, a friend of the victim, holding up the picture of Floch. 

“Um... Yeah, I think so! He was in my economics class.” Sasha said with a small sniffle while Hange gave Levi a side eye that could only say ‘what the hell are you doing?’ 

“Do you know if he ever interacted with Mina?” Levi asked. 

“Not really. I think they studied together a couple times? I didn’t spend a lot of time with Mina outside of school. She worked a lot,” Sasha explained. 

“She worked? Her parents didn’t seem to think she had a job,” Hange said, perking up in surprise. 

“Oh god, please don’t tell them!” Sasha pleaded, her face turning pale, “She worked as an escort. Off the books obviously. She didn’t want them to know.” 

“An escort? Do you know the name of the company?” he asked, finally getting a lead on this case. 

“You could have told me!” Hange snapped when they were in the car, finally finished with Sasha and putting together the new information they had just discovered. 

“It was a hunch,” Levi dismissed. 

“One that might have solved the case. You should have told me!” She yelled, “We have to tell Erwin.” 

“No,” Levi demanded, “Not until we know for sure.” 

Levi and Hange chased every clue, followed every lead, and spoke to everyone who would answer. It felt like they were getting close, but at the same time it seemed as though they would never fully put it together. 

It didn’t help that they still couldn’t find Floch. The man hadn’t been seen since a few days after his questioning. 

Levi’s neck ached as he hunched over his desk, going over every piece of evidence for the millionth time; looking up only when distracted by the buzz of his phone. 

**_Eren: You busy? I want to show you something_ **

**_Levi: I’m always busy_ **

**_Eren: Just come here!!_ **

Levi chuckled quietly to himself, a rare occurrence that had been happening more often since getting to know Eren the past few weeks. He stood and stretched, his joints cracking noisily; relief from sitting in the same position for a few too many hours without a break, before making his way toward Eren’s office. 

“What do you want?” Levi asked, popping his head inside and finding Eren dressed in all white; coveralls, apron, booties, and a plastic face shield. 

“Put these on,” Eren grinned, shoving another of the same outfit in Levi’s arms. 

Levi gave him a skeptic look, but did as he was told regardless, before following Eren down the hall. 

“The Blood Room?” Levi deadpanned, though unable to ignore the small twinge of excitement he felt from the idea. 

“Yeah! This is where reenact crime scenes. To figure out what happened; what type of weapon was used, how much force, I can usually even figure out the height of the killer. There are a lot of factors that go into blood spatter,” Eren explained, leading Levi inside. 

That’s... fascinating,” Levi said, a stirring of excitement building inside of him as he looked around the room; completely white except for the jugs of red corn syrup. 

“It sounds like you’re joking,” Eren laughed, picking up a jug to pour the fake blood into the mannequin. 

“I’m not,” Levi affirmed. 

“I didn’t think so,” Eren said, a fond look in his eye as he stared into Levi’s. 

“There’s so many details in blood. Most people don’t understand, they think it’s disgusting and don’t want to deal with it. They don’t realize the stories it can tell,” He explained, his green eyes shining in the all-white room as he turned back to the flowing fake blood. 

“It’s phenomenal,” Levi said quietly, entranced by the red flow, watching as Eren closed the empty jug and began to pour in another. 

“Right?!” Eren exclaimed, “You’re the only one who appreciates it. Everyone else just passes it off to the blood guy so they don’t have to deal with it. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing it, but a little appreciation for the thing that keeps us alive would be nice.” 

“You know, Hange threw up at a crime scene once,” Levi chuckled, lowering his face shield as Eren picked up one of the weapons he had lined up on the table. 

“I remember that! It was my first day!” Eren laughed, “some psycho chopped a bunch of people up with a chainsaw, the room was covered. I think everyone but you and I threw up.” 

“Probably,” Levi scoffed. 

“I knew that day, that you were special,” Eren grinned before slamming the metal bat down onto the mannequin. 

Levi should have been worried about that comment. He had spent his life concealing that part of himself from the world, pretending to be normal like everyone else. He should have been worried that Eren had seen through him on their first meeting, but his mind blanked as the blood sprayed against the clean white walls. 

Levi stared at the scene, fixated on the fake blood; the way it splattered against the wall, sprayed over the floor, even dripped down Eren’s face shield. That’s when he finally realized that while he had been staring at the blood, Eren had been staring at him. 

“W-what does the spatter tell you?” Levi asked, clearing his throat and breaking away from Eren’s gaze. 

“That a bat was not the murder weapon,” Eren laughed, walking over to un-clip the papers from the wall, to set up for another try. 

“Do you do this for every case?” Levi asked, watching the blood drip down over the mannequin, pooling on the table below. 

“Nah, only when there’s not enough evidence. I try to narrow down the suspects a bit, help out where I can,” Eren said, picking up a crow bar for the next round. 

Levi watched with awe as Eren tested out a few more possible weapons. It was captivating, the most beautiful thing he could imagine. Eren was in his element, creating works of art with nothing but blunt objects and a mannequin filled with corn syrup. He looked happy, free, and as beautiful as the splatters of red over the white papers on the wall. 

Levi wanted to take the papers home, hang them around his home. They were striking; the way the fake blood dripped down the page, pooling on the paper covered floor below, swirling together in a thick glob. 

Even Eren looked like a masterpiece in that moment; his cheeks flushed with exertion, his hair falling out of place behind the shield, his eyes bright with excitement, and covered in blood from head to toe. He was stunning. 

“Do you want to try? There’s one possible murder weapon left,” Eren asked. 

Levi looked at him in surprise, only having expected to watch Eren test the material. Finally, with a nod he took a step closer; nervous excitement flowing through him. 

He had become a cop because of his blood obsession. It had brought him closer to it, given him the ability to see it regularly while keeping the urge to create it at bay. This was his chance to create the beautiful art that he admired, without repercussions or hesitations. 

Afterall, it was nothing more than a mannequin filled with corn syrup. 

Levi picked up the hammer carefully, holding it with the care of an artist holding a paintbrush. His eyes moved to Eren before he took his swing, intense green eyes staring into his soul, as though they knew his deepest, darkest secrets, without needing to be told. 

Levi felt exposed, out in the open for the first time in his life --and incredibly aroused. He could refuse, take a step back and just watch Eren, save face and pretend he was not as affected by the situation as he was. But he felt safe with Eren, for the first time in his life he could show this side of himself to someone and not worry about how they would react. He would be understood. 

Levi turned his focus back to the task, raising the hammer above his head and slamming it down as hard as he could. Blood sprayed everywhere, it covered his suit, his mask, everywhere around him soaked in the fake blood. 

Levi’s eyes were wide, breathing heavy, and heart racing with excitement as he stared at the mess around him; his own gorgeous creation. 

“How do you feel?” Eren asked, pulling off his protective hat and taking a step closer to Levi. 

“That was...” Levi didn’t even know how to answer. 

“Invigorating?” Eren laughed, pulling Levi’s hat off as well and tossing it to the floor. Levi nodded as he stared up into Eren’s eyes, unable to move away while Eren’s hand reached up to cup his face. 

Levi had never cared for physical contact, had never felt the need for a companion, or sexual desire toward another person. But as Eren leaned forward to press his lips softly against Levi’s, Levi’s eyes fluttered closed, his arms reaching up and wrapping around Eren’s neck to pull him impossibly close. 

Fire, passion, desire, understanding; the kiss was filled with everything Levi hadn’t known he had needed. Kissing Eren, a man seemingly as strange and twisted as himself, felt more natural than anything Levi had ever done. 

Levi hummed quietly when they parted, a small smile spreading over his lips, “You have fake blood on your face,” he said, reaching up to wipe it away. 

“I think I got it from you,” Eren laughed, wiping his thumb across Levi’s own cheek. 

“That was... unexpected,” Levi said, feeling almost shy for the first time in his life. 

“Was it though?” Eren laughed, and Levi actually felt heat rise in his cheeks, Eren was causing many emotions Levi had never felt before. 

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I’ve never seen you smile like that,” Eren confessed, his face turning serious as he ran his thumb over Levi’s bottom lip, “I like you Levi.” 

Levi had said those words before; not often and less so in situations like these, but in an attempt at a seemingly normal life. He had he actually meant them, he had never found a person who could he truly liked; someone to understand him, who’s brain worked differently than others -- like his. 

Maybe Levi could open up to Eren even more, tell him the things that went on in his head that he had never dared to share with anyone else. Maybe Eren felt the same about him. 

The words didn’t matter in that moment, only the feeling behind them as Levi whispered, “I like you too,” and felt the soft press of Eren’s lips against his. 

They did nothing more than kiss, but it was more intimate than anything Levi had ever felt. He liked the feeling of Eren’s lips against his own, his arms wrapping around his shoulders, their coveralls sticking together from the fake blood. 

Eren blushed when they parted, a happy smile on his face while his eyes lingered on Levis, before they both began cleaning the room. 

They didn’t talk about the kiss; they didn’t need to. It was just a natural progression for them and they would take the budding relationship as it came. It would be unconventional, considering Levi’s lack of normalcy, but he knew Eren understood; possibly even felt the same, which to Levi made him even more perfect. 

The experiments in the blood room had helped to clear Levi’s mind, just as Eren thought it would. While he did spend some time thinking about the softness of Eren’s lips against his own, and the undeniable connection he felt with the younger man; he had been able to focus on the case. 

Finally putting together the last pieces to figure out the case. 

“Levi, what’s wrong?” Erwin asked as Levi practically stomped into his office, throwing the two folders onto his desk, Hange chasing behind him quickly. 

“They’re the same case,” Levi growled. 

“How do you know?” Erwin asked, furrowing his large eyebrows as he eyed the folders. 

“Floch, aka Zackly’s grandson. No documented relation because his mother went into witness protection when Zackly went to prison. Reported as a missing person, upon investigation we found connections to the escort service employing Mina Carolina and the four girls from the basement murders, multiple witnesses seeing him with each of the victims, and confirmation that he purchased the same sedatives found in Mina’s system, from the drug dealer himself.” Levi explained. 

“The other girls didn’t have sedatives in their systems,” Erwin countered. 

“No, because that particular drug is untraceable after 24 hours. The girls in the basement were kept for days before killed. Mina was the first, things didn’t go as smoothly as he had planned,” Hange explained. 

“But he did buy some before each of the girls went missing,” Levi added. 

“So is Zackly involved?” Erwin asked. 

“Yes,” Levi said simply. 

“Can you prove it?” Erwin asked again. 

“No,” Hange said, defeated. 

“Well, I suggest you figure out a way to, Zackly was released from prison yesterday,” Erwin said, passing the folders back to Levi with a determined nod. 

“Yes Sir!” Hange said, following Levi out the door. 

“I thought you solved the case already,” Eren said, sitting down on the edge of Levi’s desk and handing him a tea from the diner. Levi looked up at him with a hint of a smile, a look reserved only for Eren; just like he knew the sparkle in Eren’s eyes was solely for him. 

“Thanks, it is but we still can’t find Floch, or officially connect him to Zackly, who by the way is now also missing!” Levi explained in frustration. 

"Do you need to though?" Eren asked, sipping his own iced coffee. 

"Find them? Yes, they’re probably together, it won’t be long before they kill more innocent women,” Levi said, bringing up both of the surveillance videos of Floch and Zackly’s last sightings on his computer. 

"What if someone already got them? Then they can't hurt anyone," Eren said. 

"That would be ideal," Levi mused, picturing the old basement he was found in; Floch and Zackly laying on the cold concrete floor, eyes glazed over, throats slit, their blood slowly pooling together and surrounding them; just as it had with his mother and so many other victims. 

“But unlikely. Those fuckers are free now,” he added. 

"And they will be again, sooner or later, if you catch them," Eren said. 

"What am I supposed to do about that? It's not like I can kill him myself," Levi scoffed. 

He dreamed of doing it; pushing a blade through Zackly’s heart, watching as the blood emptied out of his body, and the light faded from his eyes. It would be satisfying, invigorating, beautiful; but Levi wouldn’t allow himself to fully give in to his darkness. 

"No, that's true," Eren said quietly, "You'll figure it out, I know you will, I'd help but I have to go visit my mom." 

"Your mom?" Levi asked, looking up at Eren with surprise. 

"At the cemetery, it's the anniversary of her death," Eren said, giving a little chuckle for Levi's confusion. 

"I'm sorry, would you like me to come with you?" Levi offered, surprising himself over the fact that he would have actually gone if Eren asked him to. 

"No, I like to be alone with her, but thank you. I'll see you tomorrow," Eren said, leaning down and brushing his lips against Levi’s - the first kiss they shared since the Blood Room, and so painfully normal that it gave Levi butterflies. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Levi nodded, eyes lingering on Eren as he pulled on his backpack, waved, and walked out of the station. Funny how it took someone as abnormal as himself to make him feels the things that regular people were supposed to feel. 

He’d have to do something nice for Eren, once the case was finally finished. Something like Eren had done for him with the blood room. Though for now, Levi would have to focus his attention on Floch and Zackly; which, he was sure his somewhat of a boyfriend would understand. 

Scanning the grainy black and white video one of Floch at a nearby convenience store, one more time, he wanted to pull his hair out. He had watched both videos multiple times and nothing ever changed. Floch entered the store, bumped into another customer, made a purchase and left. 

The shop owner knew nothing, only that it had been a normal exchange. Even the other customer had been wearing a hood, his face hidden from the camera, and unmemorable by the owner. 

Zackly’s video was even less informative, just the security footage from the business beside the halfway house he had been staying in. There weren’t even many people around due to the late hour; a woman dressed in a fast food uniform hurrying down the sidewalk, a tall thin man in a hoodie looking at his phone, and older man walking his dog. Then Zackly heading back before curfew, except he never actually signed in that night. 

Then Levi noticed something he hadn’t before. How had he missed it? The same man in the hoodie, crossing the screen in the opposite direction. 

Levi paused the video, playing Floch’s video side by side until he paused on the hooded man. 

“Fuck me, it’s the same guy,” Levi whispered to himself, zooming in on the anonymous person and studying every detail. 

There was nothing to go on. He was tall, thin, and wearing a hoodie and a back pack. He looked like every kid in the University, there was no way to determine who he was without a shot of his face... but somehow, he still looked familiar. 

The blood drained from Levi’s face when he realized where he had seen the same figure. The hoodie, the backpack, the build; it was the same image his eyes had lingered on only moments ago when Eren left the room. 

Absolutely absurd. Eren wouldn’t... 

But then Eren’s vanishing smile came back to him. Eren’s entire demeanor had changed when Floch was mentioned as a suspect. Levi had been curious as to why, but had been too busy focusing on everything else to concern himself with Eren’s different personality cues. 

With his heart beat elevated, he pulled out his phone and dialed Eren’s number. He was likely already at the cemetery, if that was actually where he had been going. 

“Hey Eren, Sorry to disturb your visit. Call me when you’re finished. Please,” He said, hanging up the phone quickly and turning to his computer. 

Between the internet and the police database, it didn’t take Levi long to find what he was looking for. 

**_Local Doctor’s wife found murdered in home_ **

**_Doctor suspected for the murder of his wife_ **

**_Could this be Dr._ ** **_Jaegar’s_ ** **_second murder?_ **

Levi read through the articles; Dr. Jaegar’s wife had been found dead in their home, he had tried to pass it off as a burglary until it was discovered that his first wife had died under hauntingly similar circumstances a few years before. 

Before they caught him, Dr. Jaegar had fled; taking his 9-year-old son with him. Only to be found dead a year later in their abandoned home, with the child claiming self-defense. 

Eren had killed his father. 

That didn’t mean he had killed anyone else. It was self-defense, Dr. Jaegar had lost his mind when they returned to their home, attacked Eren. Eren had killed him to save himself, or at least that’s what he had told the police. 

Maybe Eren had killed him because he wanted to. Maybe witnessing his mother’s death had changed Eren like it had Levi. Maybe Eren had developed the same urge for blood that Levi had, he just hadn’t forced himself to control it. 

Maybe Eren and Levi were more alike than Levi had realized. 

Levi had to find him. 

Pulling on his coat and dialing Eren’s number again as he hurried out to the car. Eren didn’t answer, not the first or the tenth call. It didn’t matter; if Levi was right, he knew exactly where to go. 

Levi listened to the automated message as Eren’s number went to voicemail one more time. There was no way Eren knew what was going on, Levi had only just discovered it himself, but it was strange for the younger man not to answer the phone when Levi called. 

Maybe he was visiting his mother, maybe when he finally finished and looked at the _many_ missed calls, Levi would get an angry call in return; maybe breaking off what they haven’t even started because of Levi’s obsessive tendency. 

That would be for the best if Levi was wrong, though in 15 years on the force, it would be a first for his gut feeling. 

Levi stared at the abandoned house he had parked beside; it had been years since he had been on this street. Kenny had brought him to this house when he was fourteen; ten years after his mother’s murder, back to the place ho had shaped him into the person he had become. 

He was surprised it was still standing, never having been sold or maintained after the case was solved. No one wanted to own a place with such a gruesome history, not even the city would tear it down to build over it. Here it was, broken windows, missing siding, but four walls intact and possibly harboring Levi’s boyfriend and Kuchel’s murderer. 

With a deep breath, and his gun at the ready, Levi made his way into the abandoned house. Watching his step as the floorboards creaked beneath his feet as he slowly made his way down the rotting stairs into the basement. 

“Eren?” Levi asked, finally reaching the room with light shining beneath the door, swinging it open to find the room lined with plastic, a man tied to a metal table, and a smiling Eren dressed in his blood room whites. 

“Levi! You’re here!” Eren exclaimed, “Sorry, I couldn’t answer the phone, I was a little busy. I knew you’d find me!” 

“You knew?” Levi asked tentatively, shocked by the scene before him. 

“I hoped,” Eren admitted, “Do you like your present?” 

“My present?” 

Levi was dumbstruck, shocked by the situation he was in. His eyes moved over the unconscious man on the table, old and wrinkled, like the pictures Levi had seen all of his life; but the image of the younger man, brutally murdering his mother burned into his memory. 

“He’s out, but should come to soon. I used the same sedative Floch used on the girl. He had more in his pockets,” Eren explained. 

“You killed Floch too,” Levi said, it wasn’t a question. 

“I did, now he’s off the streets and won’t be released for _good behavior_ ,” Eren said, his nose wrinkling at the description, “Like you wanted.” 

Levi stared wide eyed at Eren, “You did it for me?” 

“No, Floch I did for myself. He was a murderer,” Eren said. 

“Doesn’t that make you a murderer?” Levi asked tentatively, taking a step closer. 

“I’m already a murderer. The need is already there, just like it is for you. You’re just better at suppressing it,” Eren smiled. 

“You work for the police,” Levi said, unsure of what to say with his suspicions confirmed. 

“And you’re the only one to actually see that I was different. They all just pass me off as the weird kid who does blood spatter. It’s the perfect cover don’t you think? You used the same one, you just haven’t killed anyone,” Eren explained. 

It was true, Eren had been hiding in plain sight, just like Levi had been doing. His background in forensics obviously helpful with covering his tracks, just as Levi’s detective status kept Levi’s urges for blood satisfied without question. 

“If it makes you feel any better, I only kill bad people,” Eren said with a grin, eyes following Levi as the older man took a few more steps closer. 

“I...” Levi began, staring into Eren’s beautiful green eyes, shining like they had that day in the blood room. He knew what he was supposed to do, what he was supposed to say, and what he was supposed to feel; but as he tore his eyes away from Eren’s and moved over the man on the table, it was once again evident that he had never been what _supposes_ to be. 

“I don’t care,” he whispered, running a hand over Zackly’s plastic bound chest before looking back up at Eren. 

“Do you like your present?” Eren repeated, his grin widening and his eyes burning passionately; he had never looked so beautiful. 

“I do,” Levi whispered. 

“Would you like to?” Eren asked, picking up a long knife as Zackly’s eyes began to flutter open, widening in terror as Eren shoved a clump of plastic into his mouth so he couldn’t speak. 

“I’d like to watch,” Levi said truthfully. 

“Okay,” Eren said, wrapping an arm around Levi to pull him close. 

Levi didn’t need coaxing; he wrapped his own arm around Eren’s waist; standing on his toes and pulling Eren down for a kiss. More than the simple peck Eren had given him earlier, even more that the deep yet hesitant kiss they shared in the blood room; this kissed with filled with more passion and emotion than Levi thought he was capable of. 

He hadn’t known Eren very long, but that didn’t matter when their souls were connected. He didn’t say the words but he knew by the look in Eren’s eyes that the feelings of love were mutual. 

With one more chaste kiss, Levi took a step back, allowing Eren the room he needed. The serene look of calm on Eren’s face as he held the knife above the struggling old man was enough to make Levi’s heart ache with affection; only managing to tear his eyes away from Eren to watch as the knife slipped in. 

Eren pulled Levi close and kissed the top of his head as they watched the blood flow; pooling into the plastic and overflowing the table before dripping down onto the floor. 

Levi loved blood. He loved the color, the smell, and the consistency. 

He knew he was sick, that he should be repulsed by the sight of an entire body’s worth of blood spilling onto the floor. 

Maybe he was a monster for finding beauty in the scene before him, feeling satisfaction and happiness over watching a man bleed out before him. 

But somehow, with Eren standing beside him; his thoughts and feelings so much like his own, he didn’t feel like a monster. 

He felt right. 

**Author's Note:**

> How was it?
> 
> Please tell me what you think!


End file.
